I STAND ALONE: a 2020 sampler thread

[01010111]

Well I saw the OP-Z in person and couldn’t resist (thank you stimulus money). I’ll report back once I’ve learned how to use its basic functions.

update: so far the biggest downside is how small it is, and I wish the button combo placement made it nicer to use as a handheld.

[Inconuucl]

I am not knowledgeable on the apps but I'd be surprised if that wasn't true haha

Not to make this my iOS thread 2.0 but here are three sampler apps that would fit the bill depending on your flavor.

Samplr: basically OP-1 like feel but with a 6 track sampler, this is a lot of fun and ingeniously designed.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf6CPwMQ91Q[/youtube]

Koala: super simple mpc style sampling, just tap an empty spot on the grid and record something. Also available on Android
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJarbWzfa5I[/youtube]

Beatmaker 3: really this straddles the line between MPC sampler and full daw. But it's also the deepest sampler available on the iPad.
(This is the first video I found that wasn't like 40 minutes. It's a deep app lol.)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSlwPISzZKc[/youtube]

Also, all of these run on the current gen low end iPad, which will run you a lot less than the stuff priced out here.

[coupleonapkins]

Ended up spending last night researching known issues & build quality with the OP-Z after finding a For Parts/malfunctioning unit listing for cheap (a modern microscopic horror story), but also ended up bummed out by all the ire TE has gained in the OP-1/Z interim, as well as what feels like their overall insouciance to responding to emails/troubleshooting (most malfunctioning units are straight up swapped out per your retailer, so buying used seems like a gamble). So instead of buying anything, I just made a poster for this thread instead

That picture is enormous and I'm not even a little sorry about it.

[cantremember]

Pretty sure that didn't work. If anyone can help me figure out how to add images or gifs on here, lmk.

[Inconuucl]

Pretty sure that didn't work. If anyone can help me figure out how to add images or gifs on here, lmk.

You copied the url to the page in Giphy rather than the gif itself.

[cantremember]

Thanks! I feel like that kinda took away some of the charm but I thought it was a good one haha

[01010111]

Ended up spending last night researching known issues & build quality with the OP-Z after finding a For Parts/malfunctioning unit listing for cheap (a modern microscopic horror story), but also ended up bummed out by all the ire TE has gained in the OP-1/Z interim, as well as what feels like their overall insouciance to responding to emails/troubleshooting (most malfunctioning units are straight up swapped out per your retailer, so buying used seems like a gamble). So instead of buying anything, I just made a poster for this thread instead

That picture is enormous and I'm not even a little sorry about it.

That poster is excellent!

I saw some of those issues. So, where I was able to go buy it directly from a dealer it seemed like an good option. I also wondered about how many of those were from earlier production runs?

[D.o.S.]

10/10

[coldbrightsunlight]

That picture is enormous and I'm not even a little sorry about it.

11/5

[Bearstripes]

I gonna jump in here. I’ve been messing with samplers for the past 2 years trying to find something that fits the bill. I wanted all the same features as you and it’s super hard to find something that checks all the boxes.

I started with the current Korg Electribe sampler but the sampling process itself was a pain in the ass/ total garbage so I ditched that and scooped an sp 404sx. Super fun sampler for sure. Not as Lofi as the 303 but still vibes hard. The effects are dope on it and using it to fuck with other gear is always fun as well. Sequencer totally blows tho (some dig it but I found it super hard to use). It can be controlled by an external sequencer but than you need another piece of gear that kinda defeats the purpose. On board mic is pretty cool tho.

Traded that for some guitar gear cause I was playing again and not really using it but quickly missed sampling so I grabbed up a microgranny which is a totally different beast in itself and I never really got the hang of it. Def has its own sound tho.

Scooped a volca sample after that and tho it can’t sampler and the process of loading samples on it was a nightmare (took me a week or two to figure it out on pc). It’s a fun piece of kit. Really enjoyed using it for beats and as a drum machine. There is this dude who kills it with it on you tube, I think his tag is littlemusicboxes. You should check it out, while it doesn’t sample on its own it definitely filled the void for a while and they can be scored pretty cheap.

After that went for the teenage engineering po33. By this point I just wanted something cheap to mess with. It’s pretty fun for sure. Only 60 seconds of sample time but the limitations can be fun. Super lofi and easy to use. Wish they would make like a deluxe series with an easier interface and not a calculator. That would slay.

Wanted to get something more powerful and after like 2 years of this I finally ended up with an mpc1000 last month. I really love it. I find the workflow super easy to grasp. I’m using the jjosxl firmware if that makes any difference. The ability to have it as a hub for my other gear is great even tho I haven’t even really got around to learning that yet. The prices are all over the place for these and people want tons of dough but if you are patient you can find one for cheap. I scored mine totally maxed out on upgrades (new fat pads, expands memory, new buttons, jjos, etc) for 550 and people are asking like 1200 for em. So if you are thinking about it definitely shop around and if it’s not your thing you can get what you paid easily if not more.

But really. I love the 1000 and I think it checks a lot of the features you are looking for.

#sampledaddyrants

[Inconuucl]

#sampledaddyrants

Now you're talking my language.

[coupleonapkins]

I also wondered about how many of those were from earlier production runs?

It looks like the first two batches primarily had issues with triggering, though TE never really addressed it specifically (but firmware updates may have helped, but who knows?). Encoders popping out of joint, banana-ing of the mold-injected shell, unrechargable battery issues and other physical problems with the units also have seemed to lessen over time, at least according to post timestamps, though the initial build seems incredibly thin, overall. Since so much of the OP-Z's functions are really integrated into that build (you could always control it on a phone or computer if the keys all went south, but that's the opposite of this thread & my brain), it's pretty disheartening to see it all lined up like that. I still have much love for the OP-1, at least strictly from a build standpoint, though it's only a matter of time until I can figure out how to rejig a dead OP-anything/pocket operator into an old Casio shell or something.

TE actually did have an OP-Z teardown vid (could've been 3am haze brain, so I apologize if not), but if not there's always this blog post for the curious

[fcknoise]

Ended up spending last night researching known issues & build quality with the OP-Z after finding a For Parts/malfunctioning unit listing for cheap (a modern microscopic horror story), but also ended up bummed out by all the ire TE has gained in the OP-1/Z interim, as well as what feels like their overall insouciance to responding to emails/troubleshooting (most malfunctioning units are straight up swapped out per your retailer, so buying used seems like a gamble). So instead of buying anything, I just made a poster for this thread instead

That picture is enormous and I'm not even a little sorry about it.

I love this poster. Can we get it on the first page willy?

[D.o.S.]

Also that Rahzel face

[fcknoise]

I gonna jump in here. I’ve been messing with samplers for the past 2 years trying to find something that fits the bill. I wanted all the same features as you and it’s super hard to find something that checks all the boxes.

I started with the current Korg Electribe sampler but the sampling process itself was a pain in the ass/ total garbage so I ditched that and scooped an sp 404sx. Super fun sampler for sure. Not as Lofi as the 303 but still vibes hard. The effects are dope on it and using it to fuck with other gear is always fun as well. Sequencer totally blows tho (some dig it but I found it super hard to use). It can be controlled by an external sequencer but than you need another piece of gear that kinda defeats the purpose. On board mic is pretty cool tho.

Traded that for some guitar gear cause I was playing again and not really using it but quickly missed sampling so I grabbed up a microgranny which is a totally different beast in itself and I never really got the hang of it. Def has its own sound tho.

Scooped a volca sample after that and tho it can’t sampler and the process of loading samples on it was a nightmare (took me a week or two to figure it out on pc). It’s a fun piece of kit. Really enjoyed using it for beats and as a drum machine. There is this dude who kills it with it on you tube, I think his tag is littlemusicboxes. You should check it out, while it doesn’t sample on its own it definitely filled the void for a while and they can be scored pretty cheap.

After that went for the teenage engineering po33. By this point I just wanted something cheap to mess with. It’s pretty fun for sure. Only 60 seconds of sample time but the limitations can be fun. Super lofi and easy to use. Wish they would make like a deluxe series with an easier interface and not a calculator. That would slay.

Wanted to get something more powerful and after like 2 years of this I finally ended up with an mpc1000 last month. I really love it. I find the workflow super easy to grasp. I’m using the jjosxl firmware if that makes any difference. The ability to have it as a hub for my other gear is great even tho I haven’t even really got around to learning that yet. The prices are all over the place for these and people want tons of dough but if you are patient you can find one for cheap. I scored mine totally maxed out on upgrades (new fat pads, expands memory, new buttons, jjos, etc) for 550 and people are asking like 1200 for em. So if you are thinking about it definitely shop around and if it’s not your thing you can get what you paid easily if not more.

But really. I love the 1000 and I think it checks a lot of the features you are looking for.

#sampledaddyrants

That is a very interesting progress.

If samplers can be placed in either the beat making or synthing category it seems our journeys were really opposite. I started with a casio sk-5 and from there OP-1. The microgranny I picked up later stayed, because I believe it does suck as a beat-making machine, it is a great great thing for droning and for longer samples. I sold the volca sample because I couldn't really get out of the territory where it was just a drum machine, and I have eventually found my way to the octatrack which does everything. But the octatrack is also more of the heart of my setup. I don't even need to use it for sampling for it to be relevant. It can be a mixer and an fx processor just as well.